Kassa; also known by alternative names) is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of nearly 242,001, Košice is the second largest city in Slovakia after Bratislava.

Being the economic and cultural center of eastern Slovakia, Košice is the seat of the Košice Region and Košice Self-governing Region, the Slovak Constitutional Court, three universities, various dioceses, and many museums, galleries, and theaters. Košice is an important industrial center of Slovakia. The U. S. Steel Košice steel mill is the biggest employer in the region. The town has good railway connections and an international airport.

The city has a well preserved historical center, which is the largest among Slovak towns. There are many heritage protected buildings in Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Secession styles with Slovakia's largest church - St. Elisabeth Cathedral. The long main street, rimmed with aristocratic palaces, Catholic churches, and townsfolk's houses, is a thriving pedestrian zone with many boutiques, cafés, and restaurants. The city is well known as the first settlement in Europe to be granted its own coat-of-arms.

In 2013, it will hold the European Capital of Culture title together with Marseille, France.[3]

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The St. Elisabeth Cathedral (Slovak: Dóm svätej Alžbety, Hungarian: Szent Erzsébet-székesegyház, German: Dom der Heiligen Elisbeth) is a Gothic cathedral in Košice. It is Slovakia's biggest church, as well as the easternmost Gothic cathedral in Europe.

The record on the existence of Košice dating from 1230 in connected with that on the existence of the rectory church. In the process of the settlement's transformation from a rural community into a town, all its periods of success and failures had been reflected on St. Elizabeth's Cathedral. According to historic data the present-day cathedral was built on the site of an edifice of older date which was consecrated to St. Elisabeth as well. It was referred to in the document of Pope Martin V of the year 1283 and in the letter of 1290, which stated that Eger bishop Andrew II exempted Košice parish from the dean's sphere of jurisdiction.

This medieval monument was built in the High Gothic style between 1378 and 1508 in several stages on the site of a parish church that burned down in 1370, in memory of Saint Elisabeth of Hungary, the patrona of all armed mercenaries and also Portugal.

The cathedral was often damaged by calamities (1556) and underwent numerous restorations. The most extensive restoration works took place in the years 1877-1896 by the drafts of Imre Steindl. The northern tower was completed in 1775, while the southern, Matthias tower in 1904. During the last phase of the restoration a crypt was built under the northern nave of the cathedral. In 1906 the remains of Francis II Rákóczi and his friends from Rodosto were buried there

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